


The Set Up

by orphan_account



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, this was so fun to write please i love torikasa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 05:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19222669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tsukasa attempts to impress Tori. It does not go as planned.





	The Set Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yuzurusjorts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuzurusjorts/gifts).



> this is for my friend Njord lol we both love torikasa. bold text means tsukasa is speaking english btw

Sora’s brows were furrowed, eyes focused intently on the task at hand. He absolutely could  _ not  _ mess this up. Tsukasa was trusting him with something so important! There was no way he would let his friend down! 

 

“Sora?” a familiar voice called out as the door to the game research club room opened suddenly, the object Sora had in his hands tumbling to the floor.

 

“Shisho! Senpai!” Sora exclaimed happily, jumping up from his seat to hug his seniors. Natsume and Tsumugi had entered the room, a clear flush on Natsume’s face from the sudden affection. Sora noted both Tsumugi and Natsume were a nice, warm pink color.  _ Love,  _ he thought to himself. His unitmates had never been good at hiding their relationship from Sora, but he never told them that. He would rather them think of him as their cute clueless baby than to let on that he was actually far more perceptive than everyone thought. After all, he didn’t mind being babied by his beloved senpais. Sora broke from the hug and smiled at the two boys. 

 

Tsumugi looked a bit embarrassed, it was clear he knew he interrupted Sora while he was working on something important. “Sorry, Sora-kun,” the blue haired boy apologized as he knelt down to pick up the smartphone Sora had dropped in the surprise of them walking in. Curious, Tsumugi couldn’t help but steal a glance at the excited junior’s phone screen, his face becoming red as soon as he read the text. “Top 10 Best Date Spots in Tokyo”. 

 

“IdiOT, what are you gawking aT?” Natsume said, annoyance clear in his tone after seeing Tsumugi’s dumbfounded expression. The redhead walked closer to Tsumugi so he could read the offending text as well. “Oh.” Natsume stared at the phone, then at Sora, then back at the phone, repeating this a few times before fully processing the situation. Sora was mortified as he watched his Shisho’s lips curl into a catlike grin, eyes narrowing at him.

 

“Does our little Sora have a crUSH?” Natsume practically purred, a teasing tone overtaking his voice. Tsumugi frowned disapprovingly.

 

“Come on, Natsume-kun, don’t tease him like tha-” Tsumugi was trying to defend Sora before he was abruptly cut off.

 

“I-it’s not what you think!” Sora sputtered out, clearly embarrassed at the teasing, “Sora is just helping his friends!”. The absolute earnestness in the younger boy’s tone made both Tsumugi and Natsume immediately shift gears, Natsume’s smile softening and Tsumugi cocking up one brow, still confused. “Sora’s classmate has entrusted him with a veeery important task.” the boy continued, explaining the situation as best he could. “Tsuka-chan told Sora a secret today, he needs Sora’s help!”

 

“With…. What exactly?” Tsumugi asked, lost as to what Sora was saying. Who even was Tsuka-chan? A first year obviously, but he wasn’t familiar with many of them.

 

“Tsuka-chan wants to go on a date with Hime-chan!” Sora said proudly, hands on his hips with his usual smile now beaming and lighting up his whole face. “And Sora is going to set them up together, HiHi~”

 

Tsumugi hummed thoughtfully and Natsume couldn’t help but laugh a bit, the idea of his little Sora helping his friends with romance was rather outlandish to him, but the clear desire to be helpful coming from the younger boy was extremely endearing. 

 

“So, Sora is looking for a good date sPOT?” Natsume pulled up a chair and sat facing Sora, Tsumugi following suit. “I know a plACE that would be satisfaCTORY.” Sora was like a puppy that had just been offered to go on a walk, the way he was so enthusiastic to hear his Shisho’s suggestion. “Senpai and I go there together ofTEN, I think your friends would quite like iT.” Natsume finished, he already knew he had embarrassed Tsumugi with this open flaunting of their relationship without even looking at the other boy.

 

“Please please pleaaaase tell Sora what it is!!” Sora was leaning forward in his chair, bouncing his leg excitedly. No one knew anything better than Shisho! This would be sure to make his friends happy! Natsume typed the address in to Sora’s phone and handed it back to him, smiling the whole time. It was a local crepe joint just a few miles from Yumenosaki, an easy walk for the first years to complete without any trouble. Sora looked at the screen, eyes sparkling with excitement as he turned it off and shoved it into his pocket. He gave Tsumugi and Natsume quick pecks on their cheeks as thanks and bounded out of the room, laughing the whole way.

  
  
  


\-----------------------------------------

  
  
  


Tsukasa was fidgeting in his desk, his eyes focused on the clock that seemed to be going ten times slower than usual. He was excited, terrified, nervous, and happy all at the same time. He had waited for class to end many times before, but today was different. Today had purpose. Tsukasa felt his eyes wander to the desk left of him before blush crept onto his face and he quickly looked back at his blank notebook. He couldn’t bare to look at Tori, not right now. The butterflies in Tsukasa’s stomach were almost unbearable at just the thought of how the other boy would react to their date. Would he be disgusted? Angry?  _ Happy? _ He quickly shook his head, trying to get rid of the thought of his rival as far away from his conscious as possible. He trusted Sora, they were close enough and he knew the boy was smarter than everyone thought, but he was still so nervous, what if it all went wrong? What if-

 

_ Ding, ding, ding _

 

Tsukasa froze. Where had the time gone? What seemed like just seconds ago he was gruelling over the clock’s slow hand, and now 20 minutes had passed? He had no time to worry about this though, it was time for him to put the plan into action. Tsukasa swiftly packed his bag and turned around to face Sora. The two boys’ eyes met, worried violet meeting reassuring turquoise. Sora immediately knew what to do, having rehearsed with his friend in text messages the night prior.

 

“HuHu!~ Hello, Hime-chan!” Sora bounded up to the shorter boy, wrapping him in a hug from behind. Tori let out a small yelp, surprised form the sudden contact.

 

“Harukawa!” Tori half shouted, annoyance clear on his face. “You know better than to just jump on people like that, geez..” the boy brushed off his jacket and sighed, looking at Sora who now had a sheepish look on his face.  _ Commoners sure are getting bold these days,  _ Tori thought to himself.

 

“Sorry, Hime-chan! Sora was just wondering if you wanted to go with him to get a snack!” Sora was now back to smiling his big, goofy smile. It was extremely hard to stay annoyed at. Tori huffed a bit before regaining his usual cute smile.

 

“Sure, Harukawa,” Tori paused for a minute. “You’re lucky I’m saying yes, not many people are lucky enough to hang out with someone as great as me ~ ♪” He would never admit it, but Tori was happy to spend time with friends, it was something he didn’t get to do often. His home life was extremely monotonous and boring so being invited out was like a little blessing for him. Tori was about to ask where they were headed when he spotted an unwelcome figure standing in the doorway. 

 

“Hold on, what is  _ he  _ doing here?” Tori almost shrieked, pointing at Tsukasa like he was a flying cockroach or something equally as revolting. Tsukasa immediately stiffened, normally Tori’s banter didn’t get to him, but he had been worrying about this outing for almost a week now. He couldn’t help but be a bit on edge. Sora quickly worked to remedy the situation though, much to Tsukasa’s relief.

 

“Sora thought the three of us could go together! Doesn’t that sound fun?~” Once again, Tori was finding it hard to say no to Sora’s enthusiasm. It didn’t  _ not  _ sound fun to Tori, the truth was he didn’t hate Tsukasa as much as he acted like he did, he just didn’t know how else to treat the other boy. He was the Himemiya family’s rival! The heir to the pathetic Suou throne! Of course he wouldn’t willingly admit that the boy was rather charming. There had been times before where Tori had wanted to drop the charade, to just be genuine, real friends with Tsukasa, but his nerves got the better of him every time. This would be a perfect opportunity to test the waters.

 

“Ugh, fine I guess, but you seriously owe me for making  _ me  _ be seen with  _ him.”  _ Tori was sure to lay the disgust on extra thick to hide his excitement.

“What do you say, Kasa-chan?~” Sora turned to face Tsukasa, knowing his friend could use some encouragement. It was now Tsukasa’s turn to act shocked. That was the plan after all, act like Sora made this all up by himself. Tsukasa knew it wasn’t very knightly of him to lie, but he simply had no other choice. Tori would never agree to an offer from Tsukasa himself. There had to be a mediator. 

 

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, I have nothing else planned, anyway.” Tsukasa was trying to sound as natural as possible. It was hard for him to come up with his usual bratty retorts to Tori when he was so nervous. “A  **rendezvous** sounds pleasant today, although I can’t promise I'll have any fun with that gremlin tagging along.” Good. Mean. Perfect.

 

“Whatever, tomatohead!” Tori stuck his tongue out as Tsukasa as he walked out of the room, Sora following behind. Tsukasa gulped, his nerves significantly decreased. He could do this.

  
  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


The walk to the restaurant was fairly uneventful, Tsukasa and Tori bickered the whole way while Sora hummed to himself happily until they arrived. Sora was the first to enter the small, quaint cafe and the scent of fresh pastry immediately hit him. He could see why Shisho liked this place. A kind waitress quickly sat them in a booth in the corner, Tsukasa and Sora sitting together on one side and Tori on the other. Tsukasa was immediately absorbed in the menu, carefully reading every word of every item description, not wanting to miss anything amazing. All three boys ordered after much deliberation on Tsukasa’s part and the waitress brought out their treats.

 

Not before long Tsukasa was, as expected, already musing about his food. “The combination of lime and strawberry together in  **pastry** is amazing , and this one with strawberry AND creme brûlée…” Tsukawa chewed thoughtfully, one hand holding a fork and the other holding his cheek. “To this, I can only say…  **marvelous** !” Sora laughed at Tsukasa’s signature line as he dug into his own apple pie crepe. Tori was trying not to grimace at the display in front of him as he ate his strawberry and cream crepe in silence. Tsukasa was being cute and it was absolutely _ disgusting _ . He couldn’t bring himself to say anything negative, though. His rival looked so happy eating the plethora of sweets laid out before him. Tori watched, intrigued at the dumb, goofy smile planted on Tsukasa’s dumb, pretty face. His eyes fixated on his dumb, stupid, ugly, soft looking lips and he felt himself blush as he looked back down, embarrassed at where his mind was taking him.

 

“So!” Sora suddenly piped up, surprising Tori. Tsukasa was still focused on his meal, but Sora knew exactly what to do to get the conversation started again. This was for Tsukasa’s own good, after all! He was the one who asked Sora to set him and Hime-chan up together in the first place! “Do you like anyone, Tsuka-chan?” Tsukasa practically choked on the fork in his mouth, hot redness creeping up from his neck onto his cheeks.

 

“Wh-why do you ask?” Tsukasa managed to sputter out, he was desperately avoiding looking at Tori. He didn’t want to know the other boy’s reaction to their friend’s sudden verbal assault. He thought he knew what he was getting into when he asked Sora to set this up for him, but  _ Jesus Christ _ the kid lacked delicacy in situations like this.

 

“Sora is just curious, that’s all, HuHu~” Sora answered innocently.  _ Sorry Kasa-chan  _ Sora thought,  _ you asked for this, though!  _ Much to Sora’s shock and Tsukasa’s horror, Tori piped up, a devilish grin on his small lips fueling Tsukasa’s redness of the face.

 

“Yeah Tsukasa, tell us who you like!” Tori was always a tease and he knew it. He relished in seeing Tsukasa get riled up, especially in situations like this. The pink haired boy knew he was both a flirt and a tease, but he couldn’t help it. Not when Tsukasa was around. It was too much fun watching that idiot go from cocky to shy in two seconds flat.

 

Tsukasa was mortified at the turn of events. He had been enjoying his meal so intently that all his nervousness had left him, forgetting why he was here in the first place, but now it was all coming back. Tori. Tsukasa cleared his throat into his fist, face still burning. “U-uhm..” Tsukasa trailed off.  _ That _ was the starter Sora picked? Seriously?!

 

“HiHi~ Just kidding Tsuka-chan!” Sora leaned over and bumped Tsukasa over playfully, he felt a bit bad, but it was extremely fun to tease his friend like this. But he knew his time was up. His work here was done! He had successfully set the mood, now it was Tsukasa’s turn to bring the plan to fruition.

 

“Oh!” Sora looked at his phone, a planned call from Natsume lighting up the screen. “Sora has to take this one, Shisho is calling. Sorry Tsuka-chan, Hime-chan!” He quickly got up and left with has bag. The bell at the front door of the cafe chimed and just like that, Sora was gone.

 

Tsukasa was staring down at his plate, absolutely petrified, when he heard laughter. It started with a small giggle, but evolved into a full snort as he looked up. Tori was…. laughing at him? The taller boy’s cheeks burned as he watched his crush, nearly in tears laughing at his embarrassment. He was ready to crawl in a hole and die. 

 

“Oh my GOD!” Tori exclaimed, wiping a tear from one eye. “That kid is seriously crazy, isn’t he Tsukasa!?”  His laughter was now dying down, but a huge smile still painted the boy’s face. “What was that even about?” Tsukasa’s mouth was dry as he swallowed, not looking Tori in the eye. He stayed silent until he heard Tori’s bag ruffle, snapping him out of his embarrassment.

 

“This has been fun, but I really have to go home. Yuzuru is gonna kill me if I stay out any later.” Tori began to stand, but Tsukasa grabbed his wrist. Puzzled, Tori stared at the boy, he looked so sad, so defenseless… There we went again. Thinking things that didn’t make sense. He had to snap out of it. “Ew, why are you touching m-” he tried to feign disgust before Tsukasa cut him off earnestly.

 

“Tori, I…” Tsukasa’s hand was sweating, he was still staring at his plate. “Please don’t go yet. I have to tell you something.” He could feel his heart pounding in his throat. He had to say it now or he knew he never would. “I… you..”

 

“Hurry it up already!” Tori said, snatching his wrist from Tsukasa’s grasp and sitting back down. He was pretending to be disgusted again but he was pulling away for an entirely different reason. His heart was beating so hard he knew Tsukasa would be able to feel his pulse on his wrist if he kept his hand there much longer. It was strange, Tori didn’t know quite why he was so affected by the sight of Tsukasa’s earnesty, it was a face he had never seen the other boy make before. “What is it? Your sweaty hands are grossing me out.”

 

“I brought you here for a reason, Tori-kun.” Tsukasa’s voice was nearly trembling. It was so quiet Tori almost didn’t hear.  _ What do you mean, brought me here? _ Tori thought,  _ Harukawa was the one who roped me into this, not you. _ “I.. brought you here because…” His voice trailed off into an inaudible whisper, Tori couldn’t hear at all.

 

“What?” Tori couldn’t muster anything out other than that one word. His throat was so dry he thought he was gonna die. Another mumble from Tsukasa. “Tsukasa I seriously can’t hear y-”

 

“I said I like you, Tori.” Tsukasa said, his head in his hands, red hair tangling into pale hands. “I like you so much and I don’t know what to do. Every time I see you my heart hurts and I don’t understand why and it’s so..” Tori’s eyes widened as he heard Tsukasa cry quietly.

 

“Tsukasa…” Tori said quietly, voice barely coming above a whisper. “I… I don’t..” 

 

“It’s fine” Tsukasa said, not looking up. “I knew you would think it’s gross. I don’t know why I told you. Please forget about this.” He was now faking a smile and looking at Tori with his ugly beautiful eyes that were puffy from crying. Tori so wished he could take the tears away. So he did. He reached across the table and put his hand on Tsukasa’s face, brushing a tear away with his thumb. Tsukasa stiffened under the touch, not daring to breathe as the other boy held his face.

 

“Tsukasa… you really are some type of idiot ,aren’t you?” Tori said, half smiling half sighing. Tsukasa looked up, confused and scared. He knew this was coming. He knew it would hurt. But he wasn’t prepared for it. 

 

“Spare me your insults, I-”

 

“I’m not insulting you.” Tori said sternly, now gripping Tsukasa’s face with both hands, forcing the other boy’s cloudy violet eyes to meet his green ones. Tsukasa’s cheeks were slightly squashed under Tori’s grip.  _ Cute _ . Tori sighed, he knew Tsukasa was stupid, but not this stupid. He knew he could only make Tsukasa understand one way, so he did what was only natural and leaned over the table, pressing a quick kiss on Tsukasa’s lips. 

 

Tsukasa gasped at the contact, flinching so hard his back hit the wall. “Th- You- We- What…. WHAT?” Tsukasa was touching his lips and pointing at Tori, horrified. Once again his entire face and neck were as red as his hair. Tori just laughed at the cute sight, happy with his work as he picked up his bag. As he walked past the booth and out of the store he patted Tsukasa’s chest and smiled.

 

“I like you too, idiot.”

  
  



End file.
